Mr Draghi Turns the Table

Euro fell against USD by 1.5%, affected by ECB’s unexpected motivational procedures. European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi unleashed a bold easing package, including an expansion in asset buying and a deeper cut to already negative deposit rates. The ECB cut the deposit rate by 10 basis points to a historic low of -0.4% and stepped up the pace of quantitative easing from 60 billion euros to 80 billion euros a month.

"Rates will stay low, very low, for a long period of time and well past the horizon of our purchases," Draghi told his regular post-Council news conference.

Yesterday, Euro declined to $1.0820 before rebounding quickly to $1.12. The euro may fall during today's trading session.

The US Dollar Index fell by 1% to 96 levels during yesterday’s trading session.

GBP declined to $1.40 before rebounding below $1.43, while the outlook remains negative.

USD/JPY jumped to 114 levels, as USD was positively affected at the beginning of the press conference against JPY, then the greenback declined to 113 levels, negatively affected by the increased demand for safe havens. The pair may settle around 112.50 during today’s trading session.

Gold rose to $1,270, positively affected by Draghi's statement.

Mr Draghi’s unexpected statement also affected oil.  A meeting between oil producers (without Iran) to discuss a global pact on freezing production may be held on 20^th March. Iran plays an important part in the petroleum industry and is a major player in the global oil market, so such meeting might fail and concerns about oversupply will return once again.   WTI traded at $37 and it is likely that oil prices may continue to trade above of $35.

There are no important economic news events for today.

Disclaimer
The prices and news mentioned in this outlook are absolutely no guarantee of future market performance and do not represent the view of ICM Capital Limited. Financial markets can move in either direction causing profits to be made or complete losses to be incurred by the trader. Each trader must decide for themselves what their risk appetite is and ensure that correct risk management procedures are in place before placing any trades.